The "Kihee Whihenee," Or Petticoat, Is A Mere Breadth Of White Cotton,
Or Calico; Loosely Enveloping The Person, From The Waist To The Feet.
Fastened Simply By A Single Tuck, Or By Twisting The Upper Corners
Together, This Garment Frequently Becomes Disordered; Thus Affording
An Opportunity Of Being Coquettishly Adjusted.
Over the "kihee," they
wear a sort of gown, open in front, very loose, and as negligent as
you please.
The ladies here never dress for dinner.
But what shall be said of those horrid hats! Fancy a bunch of straw,
plaited into the shape of a coal-scuttle, and stuck, bolt upright, on
the crown; with a yard or two of red ribbon flying about like
kite-strings. Milliners of Paris, what would ye say to them! Though
made by the natives, they are said to have been first contrived and
recommended by the missionaries' wives; a report which, I really
trust, is nothing but scandal.
Curious to relate, these things for the head are esteemed exceedingly
becoming. The braiding of the straw is one of the few employments of
the higher classes; all of which but minister to the silliest vanity.
The young girls, however, wholly eschew the hats; leaving those dowdy
old souls, their mothers, to make frights of themselves.
As for the men, those who aspire to European garments seem to have no
perception of the relation subsisting between the various parts of a
gentleman's costume. To the wearer of a coat, for instance,
pantaloons are by no means indispensable; and a bell-crowned hat and
a girdle are full dress.
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